Conventional laptop computers utilize a "clam-shell" design. Although the "clam-shell" laptop is simple to set up, there are numerous drawbacks to the "clam-shell" design. The "clam-shell" design does not have adequate thermal management, is ergonomically unfriendly and lacks versatility. All of these disadvantages preclude currently available laptop computers from becoming true replacements for desktop computers.
Thermal management is a primary concern with any electronic device, especially with laptop computers which comprise heat-sensitive semi-conductor components, in addition to other electronic components, which generate the very heat which negatively impacts component performance, reducing the overall efficiency of the laptop. In the presence of too much heat, the semi-conductor components fail. Dissipating heat generated by laptop components is therefore essential. Although the "clam-shell" design utilizes heat sinks to draw heat away from the components, the location of these heat sinks underneath the keyboard renders them inadequate. For example, during operation of the laptop, the keyboard is laid flat against a surface in a horizontal position, thus trapping the heatsink between the keyboard and the surface. This design does not take advantage of convection cooling and reduces the efficiency of the heat sink because the heat radiating from the heat sink has no where to go. In addition, laptop batteries also generate heat, are enclosed in the same housing as other heat generating components and are also negatively affected by heat. The thermal management problem is further exacerbated by the plastic chassis of a "clam-shell" laptop which acts as an insulator, thus trapping heat inside the laptop housing. Although some laptop computers utilize fans to draw off heat, the fans further reduce battery performance.
The "clam-shell" design is also ergonomically unfriendly to the user because the keyboard is too high for comfort and there is an insufficient amount of space for the user's thumbs to rest between the keyboard and the glidepad to prevent unintended cursor movement. The keyboard is too high and the thumb rest space is too small because the keyboard housing contains virtually all of the laptop's electronic components other than the display, in addition to the keyboard, including the heat sink and receptacle for portable memory devices which increase the depth of the keyboard housing and take up space needed to increase the space between the keyboard and glidepad.
Since the "clam-shell" design is only made up of two housings that fold up like a clam, the versatility of the design is limited because there is no room for moving components around within the housings, such as the heat sink, to improve overall efficiencies and no room to accommodate additional desirable features such as improved ergonomics, more and/or larger batteries, an AC adaptor backpack and a CD ROM or DVD slot. In order to accommodate such components the footprint of the "clam-shell" design would need to be undesirably increased.